


Death Always Wins

by Wiccy



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Dick/Damian if you squint, Gen, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:54:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27199477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wiccy/pseuds/Wiccy
Summary: A zombie apocalypse has hit Gotham.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6
Collections: Shipoween 2020 - The Halloween Ship Exchange!





	Death Always Wins

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FleetSparrow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FleetSparrow/gifts).



> You said to fuck you up. I hope this has the effect you were looking for.

It wasn't like Damian had never seen the dead rise before, his grandfather was Ra's al Ghul, the Demon's Head, master of the Lazarus Pits after all. This was completely different, however. Firstly, there had been no magical liquid involved – as far as Damian knew, there were far more than just one of them and they weren't exactly alive. Secondly, they hadn’t all come back complete and whole; many of them were mangled, some in various stages of rot and decay, the state of them often betraying just how long they had been dead. Thirdly, no one who had partaken in a Lazarus Pit had ever attempted to eat his brain – or anyone elses' as far as he was aware.

These were his somewhat pointless observations as Robin and Nightwing swung around the final landing of the emergency stairwell, heading toward the roof where they hoped to find sanctuary to regroup and meet up with Batman and Batgirl who were headed their way. Grayson kicked back the landing access door that Damian had dodged, the move temporarily halting the forward progress of the zombies on the other side. 

The two vigilantes were faster than the things giving chase, but the enemy was relentless, which left them with little time as they reached the portal to salvation. Damian had arrived first, pushing the large fire door open and sticking his head out into the open air. 

"Slight problem with the plan, fearless leader," not even the most dire of circumstances could curtail Damian's sarcasm it seemed, "it only locks from the inside."

He knew they should have simply scaled up the outside of the building, but Grayson had insisted that they needed to check for survivors as they made their way up. The first of the small horde was halfway to the top of the stairs now and would be on them in a matter of moments. Damian knew there were too many of them for the two of them to handle in such a small space and going out onto the roof without securing the door would just result in their meeting place being overrun once the additional monsters from the lower floors made their way up. He could see in his eyes that Grayson had arrived at the same conclusion. Perhaps, he could rig the lock.

"We had a good run." Grayson’s voice traveled the space between them as Damian continued to examine the half opened door, "tell Bruce I’m sorry."

"Wha..." Damian had barely begun to turn his focus back to him when the older man stepped forward and shoved him through the opening. Only his superior reflexes kept him from falling to his knees as he windmilled out onto the building’s black sandy roof. Behind him the door slammed into place. He spun on his heels and rushed the barrier, but no matter how much he yelled and pulled and kicked it would not give way. Beyond it the din of battle began in earnest. All too soon the sound of his partner's utterances of pain drove him from frantic to desperate.

" **GRAYSON!** " Damian screamed, terror forcing height into his pitch as he banged and banged on the heavy steel door.

Damian gave the door one final, useless slap as silence fell on the opposite side. The teen's forehead came to rest against it just below the hand that was slowly sliding down the surface, "Dick..." the name fell from his mouth in a hush of guilt tinged sorrow and hung there for a moment before anger clinched his fist and he struck out at the door again.

The bang of his fist reverberated in the lingering silence before it too fell away and then a new sound cut through the quiet. The sound of the door lock being clumsily disengaged. Damian Wayne was not generally one for hope, but in that moment, he felt it all the same. _Plan for the worst, hope for the best._ Dick's words filtered through his emotionally overwhelmed mind and Damian snapped into action mode.

He backed away just as the door swung forward to reveal what lay behind it. The form of Dick Grayson stood in the doorway, backlit by the flickering golden oranges of flames. He was covered in slashes, cuts and blood, the mask had be torn away from his face leaving claw marks in it’s wake, one of his arms dangled limply from the shoulder, his mouth hung open oddly, escrima sticks lay forgotten near his feet.

Grayson had clearly used some incendiary wing-dings to set the back of the horde on fire, and consequently the entirety of the stairwell as far as Damian's eyes could see. The power had gone out hours ago, leaving any fire suppression system the building might have inert. At least the beasts in the lower levels would be cutoff now. He only wished that one of them had thought of it before it had cost Dick his life. Because cost him his life it certainly had. Even if the thing's movements as it groaned and lurched forward hadn't made that fact clear, those clouded over, unfeeling blue eyes certainly would have.

In a matter of minutes, Grayson had gone from closest friend and partner to enemy and monster that Damian must take down. He felt an unfamiliar moisture fill his eyes and roll down his cheeks and over the edge of his chin.

"Damn you Grayson," his voice growled through clenched teeth. Assuming survival, it would take a while for Damian to forgive him. Undeterred by the display of emotion the not-Nightwing shuffled forward claw curled hand reaching out from the end of it's working arm. Damian drew his katana.

It shuffled closer, taking a testing swipe in his general direction. Damian planted his feet, bent his knees and sprung forward, pushing away from the ground as the thing that used to be Grayson closed in. The leap took him up and over, a hand to the top of it's head allowed him to flip himself around in midair. His vaulting hand rejoined the other on the hilt and the blade sliced out in a powerful upward arc, rending the air around him with a sound that would haunt him for years to come.


End file.
